Serbia: denigrating statements against election observers and members of civil society (joint communication)

The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Serbia on 20 February 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.

This is a shorter version of the original communication. 

Read the full communication

BACKGROUND

Topic: denigrating statements against election observers and members of civil society, in particular the NGO CRTA, in Serbia by members of the Parliament and other leading political figures, after the NGO published a report that may point to election fraud and electoral engineering during the December 2023 Belgrade city assembly elections.

CRTA (Centre for Transparency, Research and Accountability) is a Belgrade-based non-governmental organization focusing on the rule of law, democratic dialogue and accountability. Since 2016, CRTA has carried out election observation activities nationally and locally in Serbia.

ALLEGATIONS

Since December 2023, a number of statements by members of the Parliament and other leading politicians have accused the NGO ‘CRTA’ of misleading the public through discrediting public statements, labelling them as a lobbyist organization and thieves.

On 22 December 2023, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić in a public statement refuted all allegations by civil society and media outlets regarding the Belgrade municipal elections and said that such allegations are aimed at the ‘direct destabilization of Serbia’ and the ‘direct breaking of the constitutional order’.

On 18 January 2024, an MP from the ruling party, Vladimir Đukanović, posted on Twitter saying that “Those working for CRTA should be arrested for misleading the public about the alleged theft as well as for disturbing the public. In addition, CRTA, as a lobbyist organisation, should be banned.” 

The discrediting narrative, labelling CRTA as thieves has been later reproduced and repeated by other high-ranking Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) MPs, stating among other things that CRTA members should be arrested and brought before justice, and that “non-governmental, or better yet, anti-governmental organisations should have been warned, long ago, that their activity goes beyond what they were registered for.”

In another statement on 17 January 2024, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić commented in a live programme on TV Pink, apparently quoting a question by a German MP, referring to the source of funding of CRTA. Reportedly, this question at the EU Affairs Committee was not asked.

The discrediting campaign against CRTA appears to have started after the NGO published a report including new evidence that may point to election fraud and electoral engineering during the December 2023 Belgrade city assembly elections. They have for instance uncovered multiple voters registered at the same address in an unfinished building in Belgrade. 

On 18 January 2024, the Ministry on State Administration and Local Self-Government have issued a statement refuting allegations that were published in the Nova newspaper the day before, about an individual being registered at multiple addresses in Belgrade.

CONCERNS

In the communication, we convey our profound concern regarding the widespread discrediting statements and smear campaigns against election observers raising concern about potential fraud in Serbia, including by the highest-ranking politicians of the country. Regardless of the veracity of the underlying claims, such statements create a significant chilling effect on the work of election observers, independent media outlets and whistle-blowers, carrying out their legitimate work in exercising freedom of expression and promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law. 

We are further concerned about the pervasive hateful and divisive rhetoric in public discourse in Serbia, which has contributed to the vilification of human rights defenders, independent media and others critical of the government, as reported by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression in her recent visit to Serbia in April 2023.

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